Abortion Ban Becomes Legal In Oklahoma

A near-total ban on abortion has become law in Oklahoma after Governor Kevin Stitt on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 612.

Under the law, performing an abortion or attempting to perform the procedure will be considered a felony, punishable by up to a $100,000 fine and/or up to 10 years in prison.

The Bill, which the state Senate passed in 2021, was approved in the state Republican-led House of Representatives on Tuesday by an overwhelming majority (70-14).

State Senator Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, who is the primary author of the legislation, said, “From my first day in office, protecting the unborn has been one of my top priorities. Senate Bill 612 is the strongest pro-life legislation in the country right now, which effectively eliminates abortion in Oklahoma.”

“SB 612 is monumental for the unborn in OK. It is the strongest Pro-Life bill in the nation, and I was honored to author it and work with my colleagues in the legislature to get this bill passed,” he wrote on Twitter.

A known Pro-Life activist, Dahm vowed that he will do everything in his power to end abortion on the national level.

AlloVir Surges 45% After FDA Grants Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy Designation To Posoleucel

Shares of AlloVir (ALVR), a late clinical-stage allogeneic T cell immunotherapy, jumped over 45% on Wednesday morning driven by the news that the US FDA has granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation to the company’s lead drug candidate Posoleucel for prevention of multiple life-threatening infections from six viruses in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant patients.

ALVR is currently trading at $7.86, up $2.45 or 45.23%, on the Nasdaq, on a heavy volume of 36.2 million shares, above average volume of 271 thousand shares. The stock opened its trading at $6.90 after closing last day’s trading at $5.41. The stock has traded between $5.19 and $26.41 in the past 52 week period.

Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) is a designation given by the Food and Drug Administration to drug candidates intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions under the 21st Century Cures Act. A RMAT designation allows for accelerated approval based surrogate or intermediate endpoints.

Posoleucel is a multi-virus specific T cell therapy (VST) targeting six devastating viral pathogens namely, BK virus (BKV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Adenovirus (AdV), Epstein – Barr virus (EBV), Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), and JC virus (JCV).

This marks the third Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation for Posoleucel.

Walt Disney Down 4%

Shares of The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) are down 4 percent on Wednesday’s trading. The stock has been negatively reacting to news of online streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NFLX) reporting its first quarterly subscriber loss in over 10 years.

Netflix said it lost about 200 thousand subscribers globally in the quarter, below its own forecast of 2.50 million additions, to end the quarter with 221.64 million subscribers. Looking ahead, the company expects to lose further 2.00 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2022.

Currently at $125.92, the stock has traded between $124.65 and $189.22 during the past 52 weeks.

Avient Corp Rises 8% On Strong Q1 Results

Shares of polymer materials manufacturer Avient Corp. (AVNT) are climbing 8 percent on Wednesday’s trading after the company posted higher first-quarter results, which also beat the Street view.

The company also said it signed a deal with Royal DSM to buy the DSM Protective Materials business for $1.49 billion. The acquisition also includes the ultra-lightweight specialty fiber brand Dyneema.

The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to EPS, adding around $0.35 per share on a pro forma basis for fiscal 2022.

In the first quarter, the company reported a net income of $84.5 million or $0.91 per share, higher than $79.7 million or $0.86 per share, reported for the same period a year ago. Excluding items, earnings increased by 11 percent to $0.99, from last year’s $0.89.

Eight analysts, on average, polled by Thomson-Reuters were estimating the firm to report earnings per share at $0.95.

The polymer firm generated sales $1.29 billion, higher than $1.16 billion of last year.

Currently at $52.25, the stock has traded between $43.69 and $61.46 during the past 52 weeks.

IBM Shares Up 4% As Q1 Results Beat Street Estimates

Shares of chip maker International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) are rising 4 percent on Wednesday’s trading, continuing the upward trend since Monday.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for the first quarter, with both earnings and revenues trumping Wall Street estimates.

IBM reported first-quarter profit of $733 million or $0.81 per share, down from $955 million or $1.06 per share last year.

Excluding items, IBM’s adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $1.40 per share for the period. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.38 per share.

IBM’s first-quarter revenues rose 8 percent to $14.20 billion from $13.19 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $13.85 billion for the quarter.

Currently at $135.08, the stock has traded between $114.56 and $146.12 during the past 52 weeks.

Parisian Love Stories for the Age of Talk Less, Message More

Jacques Audiard made his new film “Paris, 13th District” as a counterpoint to the New Wave movies that shaped his early ideas of love and intimacy.

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By Thomas Rogers